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Single-sourced versions

We use a custom Jekyll plugin (single_source_generator.rb) to dynamically generate pages from a single source file.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Read all navigation files (app/_data/docs_nav_*.yml).
  2. If the file doesn’t contain generate: true at the top level, skip it.
  3. If it does, loop through all items in the navigation:
    • If assume_generated isn’t set at the top level, or it’s set to true, then all items will be generated.
    • If assume_generated is set to false, nothing will be generated by default. Any individual navigation entry that should be generated must be set to generate: true.
  4. Each file that should be generated goes through the following process:

  5. Build the base directory.

    This is app/_src/<product> by default, but if the src starts with a /, it is treated as a full path in app/_src/. For example, /shared/license would be app/_src/shared/license, while shared/license would be app/_src/<product>/shared/license.

  6. If src is set on the item, we’ll use that as the source file.
  7. If src is not set on the item:
    • If absolute_url is set, skip the item. We assume it’s generated another way (unless the url is equal to /<product>/, which is a special case and is always generated).
    • Else, use the url and set src to be url.
  8. Read app/_src/<product>/<src>.md or app/_src/<product>/<src>/index.md and generate a file at <product>/<version>/<url> using that content.

Single source an entire product

Setting generate: true at the top level of a nav file applies the generator to every path in the file.

The comments in the following example file describe what will be read, and what URL will be generated:

product: deck
release: 1.11.x
generate: true
items:
  - title: Introduction
    # Reads `src/deck/index.md` and writes `/deck/<release>/index.html`
    # This is a special case because absolute_url is true, but `/deck/` is equal to `/<product>/`
    # and we must always generate an index page
    url: /deck/
    absolute_url: true
    items:
      - text: Terminology
        # Reads `src/deck/terminology.md` and writes `/deck/<release>/terminology/index.html`
        url: /terminology
      - text: Architecture
        # Reads `src/deck/design-architecture.md` and writes `/deck/<release>/design-architecture/index.html`
        url: /design-architecture

  - title: Changelog
    icon: /assets/images/icons/documentation/icn-references-color.svg
    # Doesn't read any file as absolute_url is set to true
    url: https://github.com/kong/deck/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md
    absolute_url: true

  - title: Installation
    icon: /assets/images/icons/documentation/icn-deployment-color.svg
    url: /installation
    # Reads `src/deck/installation-guide.md` and writes `/deck/<release>/installation/index.html`
    src: installation-guide

Single source specific files

You may not want to update an entire release at once. In this instance, single sourcing specific files might be useful. You can set assume_generated: false at the top level, then use generate: true on individual items to enable this.

product: deck
release: 1.11.x
generate: true
# This line will make Jekyll read `app/<product>/<release>/<file>.md` by default
# unless `generate: true` is set on a specific item
assume_generated: false
items:
  - title: Introduction
    # Reads `app/deck/1.11.x/index.md` like normal
    url: /deck/
    absolute_url: true
    items:
      - text: Terminology
        # Reads `app/deck/1.11.x/terminology.md` like normal
        url: /terminology
      - text: Architecture
        # Reads `src/deck/design-architecture.md` and writes `/deck/<release>/design-architecture/index.html`
        url: /design-architecture
        generate: true

  - title: Installation
    icon: /assets/images/icons/documentation/icn-deployment-color.svg
    url: /installation
    # Reads `src/deck/installation-v3.md` and writes `/deck/<release>/installation/index.html`
    src: installation-v3
    generate: true

Manage multiple releases and single sourcing

If a page requires a major rewrite for a release, it doesn’t make sense to keep everything in a single file. In this instance, you can append the major version to the filename (for example, instructions-v3.md) and use the src parameter to point to a specific file:

product: deck
release: 1.11.x
generate: true
items:
  - title: Introduction
    url: /deck/
    absolute_url: true
    items:
      - text: Terminology
        # Reads `src/deck/terminology-v3.md` and writes `/deck/<release>/terminology/index.html`
        # This is how you can have multiple releases of a single source file when completely rewriting content
        url: /terminology
        src: terminology-v3

Render unlisted pages

In some cases, you may want to render a page within a version without adding it to the side navigation. You can do this by adding an unlisted section to the data file:

product: deck
release: 1.11.x
generate: true
items:
  - title: Introduction
    url: /deck/
    absolute_url: true
    items:
      - text: Terminology
        # Reads `src/deck/terminology-v3.md` and writes `/deck/<release>/terminology/index.html`
        # This is how you can have multiple release of a single source file when completely rewriting content
        url: /terminology
        src: terminology-v3
unlisted:
  # Read from src/deck/how-to/example.md. Rendered at /deck/how-to/example/
  # Not listed in the sidebar
  # Options such as 'generate' and 'src' are valid here too
  - url: /how-to/example

See also